


Bad hair day

by Boxcult (Brynnen), Brynnen



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Efi may be a genius but even she gets overwhelmed, Friendship, Gen, Growing up is tough, Helping, These two are adorable, West African culture, at least friends can help, my pure babies!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 10:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14162694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynnen/pseuds/Boxcult, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynnen/pseuds/Brynnen
Summary: Efi is tired and overwhelmed, trying to live up to expectations. Fortunately, Orissa is on-hand to help.





	Bad hair day

Orisa detached her power cable and conscientiously coiled it up, hanging it up on the hook Torbjorn had specified was its stowage location. The time as 0718 according to her internal clock, so she had no duties to perform at present and could do as she wished, within reason. Since she wished to see Efi and ensure her creator/sister was well, she set off in the direction of the girl's quarters. Her wish was reasonable after all.

  
Efi slumped in front of the mirror, despairing at the state of her hair. The brush nearly slipped out of her hand as she found another patch of hair burnt away that she'd barely noticed when working. When had that sticky residue got into her hair as well? She'd showered already, washed thoroughly and it was still stubbornly there!

  
She looked terrible, scruffy and unkempt. All the others were sure to think she was just a silly child who couldn't take care of herself properly and then they'd send her back home where she wouldn't be allowed to help everyone! What if D.Va saw her like this? Or Zarya? Or... What if Lucio saw her looking like this? Hot mortification flushed through her entire body and Efi let out a wail of sheer distress.

  
'Do you need a hug?' Her bedroom door opened to allow her masterpiece/best friend/young sister/hope to enter the room. Her quadrupedal bulk made the room seem much smaller, even with her combat arm having been switched out for a more dexterous pacific option.

  
'I need my hair to stop being sucky! I look a total mess and everyone else looks so cool and smart even though they have so many other duties and Mama told me not to let my appearance go because looking clean and tidy is a signal to all who see us that we are worthy participants in society, able to comply with its standards and all sorts of other complicated elements of social semiotics!'

  
Orisa gently took the brush from Efi's hand as she panted for breath and slowly began to draw it through the girl's hair. She varied the pressure of the tool carefully so as not to cause Efi any pain from the tangles in her hair. Efi's behaviour was unusual and Orisa combed her diagnostic portfolio for possible reasons and remedies.

  
Humans required sleep to maintain all cognitive subroutines' functionality and juvenile humans required more than mature specimens. Orisa consulted the net for further information, Efi was likely to require approximately nine to ten hours of sleep a night, given her age. Orisa calculated this was more than she was currently achieving and scheduled a task after lunch to persuade Efi to come outside with her and sit in the Mediterranean afternoon sunshine. She added a reminder to bring a large, warm blanket in order to maximise comfort and the chance of napping.

  
'I'm going to have to wear a hat. Or a wig. Or just hide.' Efi concluded glumly, surveying the mess her hair was. She wanted to cry, or hide and she wasn't sure why her stupid hair was making her this sad. She didn't usually care this much!

  
'Or a gele. Auntie always looks very smart in hers, doesn't she?'

  
'But I'm not good at tying gele, Orisa!'

  
'So we will learn together and when you next go home, Mama will be so pleased with how smart you look!' Orisa's voice was warm and encouraging. 'I have run several instruction videos and believe that scarf would look appealing, would it not?'

  
The striped scarf's main colour matched the green, long-sleeved shirt she was wearing and the golden thread shimmering through it reminded her of Orisa. In fact, the more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded! Hope flowed through her, a sedate, round gele would hide all her hair, keep it out of the way and she'd always liked the way the less fussy, round style looked.

  
'How hard could it be, eh, Orisa?'

  
'The instructional videos I have accessed indicate that the difficulty level is not high.' Orisa agreed.

  
Efi sat still and let Orisa wrap, then tie the wide scarf around her head. For a strange moment she was transported home, Mama plaiting her hair ready for school. It was a happy memory and Efi felt better. She wasn't alone and even if this didn't work, Orisa would do her best to improve the situation.

  
'Ah, would you hold this still while I pleat?' Orisa's voice brought her back to the present and Efi grasped the frabric, sliding her fingertips through the valleys of the first pleats to make them sharper. Ah yes, she remembered this step of the process!

  
It took a while, the pair of them working together to hold, fold and tuck the fabric into shape, but at last Orisa tied the final knot and tucked the ends under tidily. Efi tweaked the arranged folds of fabric so they were more even until at last they fell into the configuration she wanted. A smile broke out across her face at the picture she made, mirror-Efi grinning back in matching delight.

  
Orisa's dexterity was improving exponentially and clearly her autodidactic capabilities were functioning very well. It wasn't the tidiest gele Efi had ever seen and it certainly wasn't the most glamorous, but it looked pretty and reminded her of home. She felt ready to face the world now. Squaring her shoulders she headed out to breakfast, Orisa trailing contentedly behind.

  
'Huh. Nice headwrap.' Soldier 76 said as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the Mr Coffee.

  
Mei's head lifted from her own breakfast in curiosity as to who the taciturn veteran would make the effort of speaking to before his first pint of coffee of the day. Her face lit up at the sight of the little engineer - the young scientist and her creation were delightful company!

  
This morning she wore a turban-like hat with concentric circles of fabric radiating out from her face into three-dimensional rings that reminded Mei of the halos she'd seen behind saints in the ikon pictures Zarya had shown her. It looked to be a very practical but attractive way of keeping all of your hair out of the way. Mei smiled at Efi and Orisa.

  
'Soldier 76 is right, that... turban? It suits you very well and you match Orisa in green and gold, how lovely!

  
Efi took a seat beside the climatologist with a smile. 'Thank-you! And thank-you Orisa for helping me tie this gele properly.' She grinned and dug into her breakfast. Bolstered by the friendship of those around her and a big bowl of Luci-Os she felt ready for anything!


End file.
